A Youngstown State University student group focused on city revitalization is doing its part to make downtown safer for pedestrians. The group, YSUscape, has installed what it calls “Crosswalk Buckets,” which hold brightly colored flags that pedestrians can wave while crossing the street.
Michael Hripko, the group’s faculty adviser, says he hopes the project benefits both students and residents in the downtown community.
“The highest number of pedestrian accidents or incidents are reported near campus, as you would expect. (And) like many communities in the Northeast, we’re automotive-focused. We hope this project helps bring attention to the fact that our evolution is toward a more pedestrian economy…a more pedestrian community.”
According to the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, 221 pedestrian-involved crashes occurred in Youngstown between 2007 and 2016.